Storm
Character Biography Early Years Storm is the descendant of an ancient line of African priestesses, all of whom have white hair, blue eyes, and the potential to wield magic. Her mother, N'Dare, was the princess of a tribe in Kenya. She married the American photojournalist David Munroe and moved with him to Manhattan, where Ororo was born. When Ororo was six months old, she and her parents moved to Cairo, Egypt. At the age of five, during a bombing in an Arab-Israeli Conflict, a plane crashed into their home. Ororo's parents were killed, but she survived, buried under rubble near her mother's body. This traumatizing effect left Ororo with the severe claustrophobia that still afflicts her today. Ororo managed to escape the rubble of her shattered home with nothing but the tattered clothes on her back and her mother's ancestral ruby. Homeless and orphaned, Ororo was found by a gang of street urchins who took her to their master, Achmed el-Gibar. Achmed trained Ororo in the arts of thievery and she soon became his prize pupil, excelling in picking both pockets and locks. During her time in Cairo, Ororo picked the pocket of an American tourist. The man proved no easy mark, however, as he was Charles Xavier, a powerful mutant telepath who used his abilities to stop the theft. At that moment, Xavier was psionically attacked by another mutant and Ororo used the opportunity to escape. Years later, feeling a strong urge to wander south, Ororo left Cairo. During her travels, Ororo naively accepted a ride from a complete stranger and was almost raped by him. Forced to defend herself, Ororo killed the man. From that moment, she swore never to take another human life. Ororo wandered for thousands of miles, almost dying during her trek across the Sahara Desert. Her mutant ability to psionically control the weather emerged soon after, and she was able to use them to rescue T'Challa, a prince of the African nation of Wakanda, from his would-be kidnappers. The pair spent much time together, however T'Challa's duties as a prince prevented them from further exploring their burgeoning mutual attraction. Finally, Ororo reached her ancestors' homeland on the Serengeti Plain in Kenya. She was taken in by an elderly tribal woman named Ainet who taught her to be responsible with her powers. Ororo soon came to be the object of worship of the local tribes who believed her to be a goddess due to her gift. The X-Men Years later, Ororo was forced to battle the threat of a fellow mutant weather manipulator known as Deluge, who sought revenge against humanity. With the help of several members of the team of mutant heroes known as the X-Men, Deluge was seemingly destroyed and Ororo returned to her life amongst the tribal people. The X-Men subsequently told their founder, Professor Xavier, about Storm but he declined to contact her at this point, not wanting to shock the young woman with the true nature of her powers. Months later, however, Xavier was left with no choice but to recruit Storm and other mutants from around the world into the X-Men in order to rescue his original students from the threat of the sentient island being known as Krakoa. Xavier explained to Ororo that she was not a "goddess," but a mutant, and as such she had a responsibility to use her abilities to help the world just as she had helped the local tribes. Curious, Ororo accepted Xavier's offer, and was given the codename "Storm." After most of the original team left for a time, Ororo, along with fellow new recruits Nightcrawler, Colossus, Wolverine, and Banshee, stayed as members of the new X-Men. Storm remained with the X-Men for years, and encountered adversaries such as Proteus, Magneto, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Juggernaut, demons from the dimension of Limbo, and even Dracula on one occasion. Storm was initially very naive when it came to the customs of the modern world, but her team mate Jean Grey helped educate her in the ways of society and the pair formed a lasting friendship. Jean was also one of the first X-Men to learn of Storm's claustrophobia after the two women chased a thief into the subway. Leader After serving with the team for many years, Storm was appointed leader of the team following the departure of former leader Cyclops after the apparent death of Jean. Storm was initially unsure about her new role, but with''' the support of her team-mates she soon became a capable leader. When Cyclops eventually returned to the team, Storm found herself doubting her leadership abilities once more after a mission she led went wrong. However, she soon asserted her position, reminding Cyclops that she was now team leader. Later, after the X-Men were captured and taken into space by the insectoid alien race known as the Brood, Storm fought back but her powers flared out of control. She discovered that she had been implanted with a Brood egg that would hatch and transform her into one of the aliens. Not wanting to unleash such an evil into the world, Storm attempted to commit suicide by channeling all of the surrounding stellar energy into her own body, destroying the Brood embryo but leaving her drifting unprotected in space. She would have died in the vacuum had it not been for a member of the Acanti, a race of spacefaring whale-like creatures that had been enslaved by the Brood. The Acanti that saved Storm was revealed to be the caretaker of the soul of his entire race who had lost his mother to the Brood and needed guidance. Storm agreed to let her consciousness guide the young Acanti whilst it healed her damaged body, and, after the Brood were defeated, a restored Storm returned home with the X-Men. Soon after, the X-Men encountered the underground community of mutants known as the Morlocks who had kidnapped one of their former members, Angel. To save her friends, Storm challenged the Morlock leader Callisto to a duel and bested her in hand-to-hand combat. As a result, Storm became leader of the Morlocks and she ordered them to cease their hostilities against the surface-dwelling humans. When the X-Men later traveled to Japan to attend the wedding of their team member Wolverine, Storm first met the ninja named Yukio. A friend of Wolverine's, Yukio was the most carefree spirit that Ororo had ever met and the two became lovers. Yukio influenced a major rebellious change in Storm's attitude towards life, and she took to wearing leather and shaved her hair into a Mohawk. Powerless/Forge Storm later had her powers accidentally neutralized by a gun invented by the mutant machinist named Forge, who took it upon himself to nurse Storm back to health. During her convalescence, Storm and Forge fell in love but their relationship was cut short after Storm learned Forge had created the device that stripped her of her powers. Storm subsequently quit the X-Men and returned to Africa where she finally came to terms with losing her mutant ability. Returning to Cairo, Storm joined Xavier's newest team of young mutants, the New Mutants, in an adventure into the past during which Storm met one of her ancestors who helped the heroes return to their own time. Storm and the New Mutants were subsequently captured by the Asgardian trickster god Loki who sought to use Storm in one of his schemes to discredit his half-brother, the thunder god Thor, by restoring her abilities and brainwashing her into believing she was a goddess. With the aid of the X-Men, Storm was able to reject Loki's gifts, thus thwarting his plan. Storm returned to the X-Men to find herself being challenged to a duel for leadership of the team by Cyclops. Despite her still being powerless, she won and Cyclops quit the team. Soon after, the X-Men and the Hellfire Club formed an alliance to combat the growing threats against mutants that saw Storm share the position of White King with a reformed Magneto. The alliance was to be short-lived, however, after Storm decided that in order to safeguard their friends and families from their many enemies, the X-Men must fake their deaths and become an underground proactive strike force. Soon Storm realized that she needed her powers restored and so she sought out Forge for his help. She found Forge's old mentor Naze instead, who informed her that Forge had been corrupted by his nemesis, the Adversary, and was seeking to destroy the world. Unbeknown to Storm, the Adversary had actually corrupted Naze. When Storm finally located Forge, she found him atop a mountain seemingly opening a dimensional portal filled with demons. Storm struck Forge down, and only then realized he had been attempting to close the portal, not open it. The Adversary then trapped Storm and Forge in the other dimension and seized control of Dallas, warping time and space in order to foment chaos on Earth. Storm and Forge spent a year on an alternate Earth, during which time they made peace and admitted their love for one another. Forge used components from his cybernetic leg to fashion a new device that restored Storm's powers which she then used to energize a portal back to their own world. They rejoined the X-Men in time to defeat the Adversary, imprisoning him at the cost of their own lives. However, the Omniversal Guardian named Roma restored the X-Men to life, freeing the Adversary under the notion that there could be no order without chaos. Soon after, Storm was captured by the crazed scientist known as Nanny who sought to use Storm's abilities in her quest to liberate the world's super-powered children by making orphans of them. Nanny used her technology to de-age Storm to her pre-teens and strip her memories so as to better sway the mutant to her cause. However, Storm fought back and overloaded Nanny's device. Once more a child with no memories of her life as an X-Man, the young Storm returned to her life as a thief. On one caper, she found herself the target of the psychic being known as the Shadow King but was saved by a fellow mutant and thief named Gambit. The pair formed a partnership and, after Storm regained her memories, she took Gambit to meet the X-Men. Storm was eventually restored to adulthood after the X-Men were captured by agents of the island nation of Genosha who used mutants as slaves. Storm underwent the mutate transformation process, however the Genoshan Genegineer and Chief Magistrate were members of a rebel faction. They restored Storm's body and mind, and the X-Men were able to defeat their aggressors. Soon after, the X-Men were reformed into two separate strike teams, with Cyclops and Storm as co-leaders. Forge aided both teams as their resident technician, however this left little time for them to rekindle their relationship. Forge still asked Storm to marry him, but she hesitated on giving a reply. Forge was left thinking she did not truly love him and he left before she could respond with a "yes." Months later, the eternal mutant Apocalypse made a bid for power by gathering together rest of her life. When the clock reached 18 seconds Doom threatened to kill the Queen mother. She is saved because someone jumped in her place to stop the bullet. But at the cost of his life. Storm finally manages to unlock the first lock. Later Storm tells Doom that the second lock isn't mechanical and it's beyond her skill to open it. Storm tells Doom that T'challa will kill him for this. Doom tells Storm how T'challa and he have been even for many years. Like two master chess players. But Doom has become victorious and declares that T'challa is a defeated man. Doom sees the final lock and it reads "Only through purity encumbered by pretense may you pass." Storm scoffs at Doom telling him that is one lock that even he will be able to open. After a long and treacherous battle T'challa finally reaches Doom and Storm. Doom threatened to kill Storm unless he opens the last lock to the vibranium vault. It is revealed that Doom was bluffing and never intended on killing Storm. He just wanted to see what T'challa would do. After Doom gets past the third lock it is seen on the vault door "''checkmate". When inside the vault the purity message is seen again. Doom understands it and begins to strip so nothing may stand in his way. He tells the vault that he is ready to be judged. Suddenly massive amounts of electricity begin attacking Doom. It is later revealed that the electricity was actually the Panther God transporting Doom to be judged. The Panther God wonders why Doom would even seek this test. All of the souls that have been lost by his hands. Back to the present. Storm and Sue go to take on the military guards that are holding the news reporters captive. Reed asks Sue why is she going as back up to Storm. Sue replies she just wants to watch. It is revealed that Doom passes the test, because the Panther God saw that the only way humanity has a chance to flourish is under the hand of Doom in his "Doom World". Schism During the events of Schism, Storm orginally wishes to leave Utopia, as she thinks Cyclops only wants her to stay for the use of her powers. Cyclops approaches her before she leaves and tells he needs her to help control the former villains that are staying on his side. Storm then picks Utopia and decides to stay . Avengers VS X-Men During the events of Avengers Vs X-Men, Storm who also is an Avenger sides with her fellow mutants in protecting Hope. In doing so, she turns against her own husband, a fellow Avenger and the Black Panther. She asks Black Panther why he didn't tell her of the Avengers' actions, to which he retorts why didn't she tell him about the X-Men's. She retorts back this is why they need a marriage counselor before unleashing a volley of lightning. Powers and abilities Powers (Omega-Level Mutant) *'Atmokinesis: Several times in the past, Storm has been described as a "sculptress". This is (arguably) the best way to describe her mutant mastery over weather, and certain forms of energy. When Storm uses her psionic powers, she sees the world as colorful, constantly changing energy patterns, rather than solid matter. These energy patterns can be "molded" to Storm's will to create a vast number of effects which mainly deal with weather manipulation. Storm is greatly in tune with nature and the elements. She can feel them, and likewise they react to her emotional state. She can manipulate weather patterns on a variety of scales, including the ability to summon large and violent thunderstorms and blizzards, as well as sleet and hail. Storm can also use the weather as a weapon. She can summon lightning bolts from the sky that can be used to blind, stun, or severely burn her opponents even to the point of death. She can also use this ability as a concussive force. Even strong enough to affect beings as strong as the Silver Surfer. Thus, she is an Omega-Level Mutant. *'Flight:' She has the ability to fly by gliding on wind currents. She can also move objects or other people with the wind or create a dome of air pressure to deflect attacks. Storm's power over air pressure has also been used to crush powerful objects such as skrull warships. She has even created pressure (on earth) higher than that found on Jupiter. Storm's powers grant her the ability to fly as high as the atmosphere can be stretched by using her mastery over wind. She can even carry other people with her. *'Energy Manipulation:' When using her powers, Storm becomes one with the energy patterns she manipulates. This gives her the ability to project weather effects through her body. For instance, she can generate lightning, intense cold, and intense heat, from her hands rather than from her actual atmosphere. Her power over thunder has been used to create deafening sounds for distracting her enemies. She can create powerful tornadoes, hurricanes, and various winds that are capable of moving a vast number of objects/people including levitating an entire building, and sending the Hulk soaring away from her and her teammates. Her ability over water and it's forms has been shown by her creating heavy rainfall, and instant floods that have even "washed" away savage land dinosaurs. Control over moisture and temperature allows Storm to freeze/flash freeze objects and people in the blink of an eye. In fact, when she once lost control of her powers, Storm was in danger of creating another world-wide ice age. She can also generate heat as strong as the earth allows. Storm can control the weather vocally too. On several occasions she has spoken to the weather like a general to her army and the weather obeys. Storm's powers change when she enters a different planet or dimension. In deep space, if close to a star, she can manipulate solar winds. If far from a star, it would take strong concentration to use this power, so, she can almost always depend on her lightning wherever she goes. Storm's ability to adapt to her environment isn't limited to large bodies of water either, as she has manipulated ocean currents similarly to how she manipulates the wind. She can summon clouds and fog to provide cover and obscure the view of her enemies. Storm has also shown that, when drastically overwhelmed, she can become a being with lightning for hair, and breath of fire and ice. Due to very good training from an early age, Storm can use her powers to set many weather patterns out of place to perform/create exotic feats/effects, and then set them back from where she got them from, putting weather patterns back to their natural state. Thus, she can disperse any Storm she generates as long as she uses her powers wisely, considering the fact that it's easy for her to create weather, but more challenging to disperse it, or, "clear it up". However, Storm may have more to her power arsenal than she shows, as she not only generated unnatural pressure on earth, but also manipulated (and intensified) plasma while in the earth's atmosphere. *'Weather Resistance:' She seems unaffected by the weather, including lightning and temperature. While in the past, Storm has been attacked with (and harmed) by lightning/electric blasts she hasn't created herself, and almost overheated due to trying to adjust to violent weather, it appears that the more experienced she gets, the less the weather seems to harm her, both indirectly, and directly. This is further shown by her being able to reverse/counter electrically based attacks. During her brief stint with the Fantastic Four, she hosted the consciousness of the abstract entity Eternity within her own mind, enabling Dr. Strange to perform a mystical surgery on the dying entity. According to Strange, he and she were the only ones present with the strength of spirit to survive hosting Eternity. The other heroes present were Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, the Thing, Black Panther, and Silver Surfer. *'Earth-Link:' Storm's mutant powers has created a psychic bond between herself and the primal life force of Earth's biosphere. This bond with the Earth and apparently the entire universe, gives Storm spiritual and material sustenance with an almost empathic sense towards living thing. Her bond with the biospheres while in outer space somehow allowed her to reverse her transformation into a brood queen, summon a solar flare and the ability and call upon a large amount of cosmic energy. She can disperse natural storms so as to create clear weather. Storm can cause a beam-like path from her hand or hands. Her control over the atmosphere is such that she can create certain effects over a specific area, while shielding smaller areas within the larger area from them for example she could create a rainstorm around herself but prevent rain water from touching her. She has diverted jet streams so as to create storms over the entire East Coast of the United States. (AN: It should be noted that Storm has on two occasions tapped into electromagnetic energy to enhance her powers. Once to stop a blizzard over Canada and second to create a cosmic-level turbulence around the Earth to block solar radiation. She can create weather effects within indoor areas or within artificially maintained environments: for example she could create an indoor rainstorm. She can create weather effects over very small areas; as when she water her potted plants.Using her precise control over air she has even been shown to control the very air in a persons lungs. Abilities Expert Thief: Extraordinary ability at picking locks and pockets, escape artist; therefore, she is very stealthy and good at sneaking up on people. Expert Combatant: She is an experienced hand-to-hand combatant, trained by Wolverine. She is also an extraordinary marksman with handguns. Expert Gardener: Ororo is also an excellent gardener owing to her supernatural abilities and has her own botanical gardens at the Xavier Mansion. High Influential Connections: As Queen of Wakanda, Storm has access to a vast collection of magical artifacts, technological and military hardware (including Vibranium), as well as the support of the nation's wide array of scientists, adventurers, and superheroes. Diplomatic Immunity: As the leader of a sovereign nation, Storm often visits the United States or the United Nations for political reasons. She enjoys diplomatic immunity during these trips, and her embassy is considered foreign soil. Weaknesses Claustrophobia: '''Having been trapped under rubble for three days while her mother lay dying, Storm's claustrophobia was once so severe, it rendered her completely helpless. However, she has more or less conquered her fear, though tight spaces still make her uncomfortable. '''Emotional Influence: Storm's ability to manipulate the weather in her immediate vicinity is affected by her emotions; hence, if she does not maintain control, a fit of rage might induce a destructive storm. As a result, Storm has in the past kept a tight rein on all extreme emotions. Physical Condition: Storm is limited by the force of her will and the strength of her body. It once took her several hours to put an end to a savage blizzard sweeping over much of Canada, and she nearly killed herself from exhaustion in the process. Naturally Occurring Limitation: Storm must manipulate weather patterns as they naturally exist. For example, she could end a drought in one area by creating torrential rains there, but that would necessitate robbing all available moisture from the surrounding area. (In contrast, Thor, whose weather affecting ability is magical, can change the weather in one area without disrupting existing weather patterns anywhere else). Storm cannot create atmospheric conditions that cannot exist naturally on the planet she is on. She could not, for example, lower temperatures as far as absolute zero or raise them to solar intensities. Astral Projection: In the Astral Plane, Storm's powers are useless as they exist in her body, not her spiritual essence. Paraphernalia Equipment Storm often carries lock picks. Also formerly a knife for protection when she lost her powers. Transportation X-Men Blackbird, formerly X-Men Stratojet Weapons Keeps a large knife and staff for necessary occasions Trivia *Storm was formerly in a serious relationship with Forge. *Storm lost her virginity to Black Panther, at age 12. *Storm is claustrophobic due to her traumatic childhood experiences in Cairo. *Ororo is best friends with Jean Grey. *Storm was originally conceived by Dave Cockrum as "the Black Cat", a character who could transform into a feline creature or a house cat. The character was shelved for a time, along with the rest of new X-Men project, and ultimately made redundant by the large number of cat-themed characters that had been introduced in the interim. When the project resumed, it was decided that the team needed another female character, and Roy Thomas suggested replacing the weather-controlling Typhoon with a female equivalent. Cockrum then quickly outline the idea for Storm, leaving the Black Cat costume unchanged but changing the character's hair from brunette to white. *The name "Ororo" means "Beauty" *During the DC Vs Marvel crossover event, Storm was pitted against Wonder Woman of the DC Universe. While Wonder Woman had the advantage in the fight when it came to combat, Storm basically was able to electrecute Wonder Woman with her use of weather manipulation. In doing so, she expressed regret for her actions, calling Wonder Woman her sister and picking her up and carrying her off the field of battle. *In the Marvel Comics limited series GeNext, Ororo is the mother of a daughter, Becka Munroe. Movies She appear in movie X-men (2000), X2: X-men United (2003). X-men: The last stand (2006) as one of the main characters, played by Halle Berry. Storm also appeared in a deleted scene of X-men Origins: Wolverine (2009). Storm Category:X-Men Category:Mutants Category:Female Characters Category:Utopians Category:Aerokinesis Category:Hydrokinesis Category:Alpha Level Mutant Category:Flight